The Devil's Calculator vs Cracking the Cryptic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Devil's Calculator
This math puzzle game challenges you to decipher obscure operators on a calculator. Solve algebraic puzzles by working backward to understand the functions and purge the calculator of its demons. It's an addictive and educational experience with user-created levels and DLC.
- Obscure operator deciphering
- Algebraic puzzle solving
- User-created levels
- DLC levels by mathematicians
- Graphing mechanics
- Hand-drawn artwork
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An evil calculator has its normal arithmetic operators replaced with sadistically obscure functions. Using logic and algebraic puzzle solving, you must work backwards to interpolate them and purge the calculator of its demons. Non-profit and open-source, The Devil's Calculator is a highly original indie game that's as addicting as it is educational. Accessible to numberphiles and math novices alike, the first 20+ levels are 100% free to play and enjoy along with several DLC levels, authored by famous mathematicians like Alex Bellos, Grant Sanderson, James Grime, Tony Padilla and James Tanton! The game was named a fan favorite of GDWC, and one of the top 10 indie games of 2019 by PAX. Each level has you decipher the function of a mysterious operator and use it to calculate the number of the beast to progress. Advanced graphing mechanics, countless features and simple, yet innovative level design provide considerable depth to the gameplay. Players unlock the ability to create their own levels and play challenges others have created - including free DLC levels crafted by the game's creators, educators and mathematicians. With hand drawn artwork and a charming story, the Devil's Calculator is a genuinely fun and gratifying puzzle experience. The game was celebrated at the MOVES conference by the National Museum of Mathematics in New York City. Cinq-Mars Media is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization developing technology to support scientific research related to human safety and education, and to make such technology and research available on a charitable basis.
Cracking the Cryptic
This app offers a curated collection of handcrafted Sudoku puzzles from world-renowned constructors. Explore classic and unique variants, with new puzzle packs released regularly. A free introductory pack is included with download.
- Handcrafted Sudoku puzzles
- Curated by expert constructors
- Classic and unique variants
- Regularly released puzzle packs
- Free introductory puzzle pack
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OUR NEWEST PACK – CLASSIC VOLUME #2! Classic sudoku is where it all began, and there is still lots of skill to be deployed to solve classic puzzles, and new techniques to be explored. Nikoli, the Japanese puzzle house, named and popularised sudoku from 1984, and we have commissioned 20 puzzles from them for this Classic Sudoku 2 app. We have also created 20 ourselves, and sourced 20 more from Sam Cappleman-Lynes, the brilliant British sudoku expert. The result is a wonderful 60-puzzle pack which will delight and challenge you. -------------------- Welcome to the brand new Sudoku app from the most popular Sudoku channel, Cracking The Cryptic. Unlike other Sudoku apps, we feature handcrafted and curated puzzles from the world’s best Sudoku constructors. Each collection features puzzles made by various authors that are now familiar names to those who follow the channel. Authors like Phistomefel, Clover, Sam Cappleman-Lynes, Christoph Seeliger, Richard Stolk, jovi_al, Qodec, Prasanna Seshadri and of course, Simon and Mark! Downloading Cracking the Cryptic will give you access to our first free collection – a variety pack by Prasanna Seshadri featuring 7 puzzles inspired from our previous Sudoku apps; Sandwich, Classic, Chess, Thermo, Miracle, Killer and Arrow Sudoku. We also have purchasable packs designed for all skill levels and featuring many unique variants not seen previously. We’ll be releasing more free and paid packs in the future so keep an eye on the app for more Sudoku content from Cracking The Cryptic!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: The Devil's Calculator at 4.8 against Cracking the Cryptic's 4.4. The Devil's Calculator also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 72%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. The Devil's Calculator sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Cracking the Cryptic sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
The Devil's Calculator holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 245 and 208 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of The Devil's Calculator's written reviews are positive against 72% of Cracking the Cryptic's.
The Devil's Calculator ships an update every 10 days, Cracking the Cryptic every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Devil's Calculator | Cracking the Cryptic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (245 ratings) — better | 4.4 (208 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.2% of reviews — better | 72.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 245 — better | 208 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 234 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cinq-Mars Media | Nick Carney |
Customer experience
The Devil's Calculator
Cracking the Cryptic
User reviews
The Devil's Calculator
From 245 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Most creative idea ever
- 🧠 Genius puzzle design
- 👍 Fun and educational
- 🚀 Brilliant game concept
- 🤓 Great for math lovers
Room to improve
- 😠 Tedious late puzzles
- 🐛 Calculator responsiveness issues
- 🐛 Wolfram graphing feature doesn't work
- 🐛 Progress saving issues
- 🐛 Calculator malfunction
Cracking the Cryptic
From 208 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best sudoku app
- 👍 Great variety of puzzles
- 👍 Excellent user interface
- 👍 Challenging and fun puzzles
- 👍 Constant updates with new puzzles
Room to improve
- 🐛 Hints are often incorrect or unhelpful
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes, especially after updates
- 🔋 Battery draining issues
- 🔒 Too many in-app purchases required to access content
Bugs and requests
The Devil's Calculator
Reported bugs
9 issues- Some late puzzles with the third operator get too tedious with too much trial and error
- The built-in calculator needs some work and button responsiveness isn’t always the best.
- The graph to wolfram alpha function doesn’t seem to work.
- There’s unfortunately an exploit I accidentally discovered that allows you to bypass any level.
- The “real” calculator malfunctions when you want to use the answer you got previously, like if I input “330 * 2”, getting 660, then pressed “+6” on the next row, instead of showing 660 + 6 = 666, it’d show 2+6 = 8
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- Lost progress again from 38 to 33. iPhone XS Max, iOS 12.4.1.
- My progress seems to be undone somewhat arbitrarily. I was working through the 50s, and when I booted up the game today, my progress had reset to level 35.
- The wolfram graphing feature doesn’t work.
- There’s a problem with DLC LEVEL 6 however.
Requested features
3 requests- Update the app
- Fix DLC Level 6
- More levels
Cracking the Cryptic
Reported bugs
4 issues- Puzzle progress and purchases disappearing after updates
- Incorrect rules or hints in certain puzzles
- Crashes and freezes, especially on older devices or Macs
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
Requested features
5 requests- Add more color options for pencil marking and highlighting
- Implement a way to clear progress or start puzzles from scratch
- Integrate all CTC apps into a single app for better organization
- Add keyboard support, especially on Mac
- Improve the quality and clarity of hints
In-app purchases
The Devil's Calculator
- Full Version of Game$2.99
Cracking the Cryptic
- CTC Worms - James Sinclair$0.99
- CTC Worms - Marty Sears$0.99
- CTC Worms - Zetamath$1.99
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- CTC Worms - Blobz$1.99
- CTC Worms - Michael Lefkowitz$1.99
- CTC Worms - Phistomefel$1.99
- GAS Volume #1$2.99
- GAS Volume #2$2.99
- CTC Approachable Sudoku #1$2.99
- Domino Sudoku Pack$4.99
- Lines Variety Pack$4.99
- Classic Volume #2$4.99
- CTC Fog Pack #1$4.99
Questions
Is The Devil's Calculator free?
Is Cracking the Cryptic free?
Which has better reviews, The Devil's Calculator or Cracking the Cryptic?
Do The Devil's Calculator or Cracking the Cryptic have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Devil's Calculator or Cracking the Cryptic?
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